How to Install Floating Floor Boards?

Floating flooring is a great alternative to glueing or nailing the flooring to the subfloor. This is a more modern method of installation that is much preferred due to the ease of installation and the lower cost of installation.

The floors will expand and contract due to changes in temperature and humidity because they are essentially floating above your subfloor. It is best to have a 10mm gap around the perimeter of the space where you are installing flooring to allow for this expansion. You can cover this gap using a skirting or putting silicone. Floating floorboards installation can be done over vinyl, concrete, timber or tiles. You need to have the right supplies when it comes to installing it on your own. In addition to the floorboards, you should have underlay and duct tape. Some of the materials you can choose for floating installation are laminate, bamboo and engineered flooring. It is easier to install floating flooring because you only need minimal preparation for the subfloor. However, the subfloor should be leveled before the installation.

If it is a concrete floor that you are installing the floating floor over, you can use self-leveling compound that is mixed with slurry or a self-leveling cement to fill low areas. You need a steel float to spread it lightly over the surface. You will not need much preparation when installing over vinyl or timber flooring as it provides a level surface anyway. To understand how many floorboards to purchase, you need to measure the area of the rooms.

The room should be cleaned and cleared before installation. Any skirting boards that were previously there should be removed. The subfloor should be vacuumed to remove dust and any other debris. The floorboards should be removed from the packing so that they can get acclimatized to the current temperature and humidity of the room. Make sure that you read installation instructions carefully.

With a high-quality moisture-resistant underlay, you can improve sound insulation and impact cushioning. You can use duct tape to the joints of the underlay. You may need to trim the bases of the floorboards so that they fit underneath the doors. You have to lay the boards in a sequence so that the tongue is kept against the wall. The long sides of the floorboards should be joined first and you should keep a small gap at the end. A tapping block can be used to close the long sides.

Make sure that the 10mm gap is kept all around the perimeter to allow for expansion. You need to place the end board and hook the pulling bar over the edge against the wall. The gap between boards should be closed by tapping with a hammer. The skirting should be replaced at the end. Generally, you will find skirting in the same color and finish as the floorboards. And if you are ending the floorboards at a door or large window that leads to the outside, you will need to have a small steel channel that will stop the boards at the edge.  This way, you can get a cleaner edge.